The coordination of vehicle teams on the ground, in the air, or on water, is an important problem for a variety of military and quasi-military applications. One of the more important of these functions is that of bounding overwatch operations. Such bounding overwatch operations occur when an entity (which may be a multi-vehicle entity) moves under the observation and protection afforded by a second entity. The benefit of movement under the protection of an overwatch entity which is stationed at a fixed location is that a stationary overwatch entity can usually be so situated that it can better watch for danger and engage an enemy than the moving entity can. Most bounding overwatch operations involve the alternating movement of team members from one fixed waypoint location to another, in the general direction of the location of the objective. More particularly, one team member moves or bounds from his (or its) location to the next overwatch location, while the other team member remains on watch at the first overwatch location. When the bounding team member arrives at his next overwatch location, he becomes the overwatch team member, and the team member at the first overwatch location then moves toward the third overwatch location.
The determination of overlook locations and the routes from the present locations of the entities is a difficult problem in bounding overwatch operations. In general, the problem can be divided into two parts, one of which is the determination of the location of overwatch location, and the other of which is determination of the most efficient path from the present location of the bounding entity to the next overwatch location. In this context, the term "efficiency" or "accuracy" is used broadly, to include such matters as the relative difficulty of the various possible alternate routes, the relative danger anticipated for each of the routes, the amount of concealment available to the bounding vehicle during traversal of the route, and any other relevant considerations. The selection of the overwatch location from which the overwatching vehicle will protect the bounding vehicle is subject to mutually inconsistent considerations; an exposed, high vantage point provides a good view of the surrounding area, but being exposed, becomes observable to an enemy, and may provide little concealment.
Most bounding overwatch problems are currently solved by manual methods. The manual methods are time-consuming and subject to error. As the battlefield becomes more complex, the time consumed by manual determinations, and the possibility of error, especially that attributable to haste, may not be acceptable.
Improved bounding overwatch location determination techniques are desired.